Secrets
by Melissa Brooks
Summary: Dani overhears a secret that Matthew and Destiny have been keeping and she works with Nate to cover up the truth about Eddie Ford's death.


Secrets

Dani was about to leave detention when she heard Destiny and Matthew arguing from down the hall. It was quiet; nobody was in the school so she had no problems hearing their conversation. She told herself that she wasn't eavesdropping but was being a good friend. She could tell by the expression on Destiny's face that something was wrong and she wanted to stick close by in case Destiny needed her.

"You can't do that. I don't want to lose you," Danny heard Destiny say to Matthew.

"He's my uncle, I can't let him go to prison for something I did. I have to confess."

"You can't. I don't want to lose you."

"You'll never lose me, but it's time I come clean. I killed Eddie Ford; I have to face the consequences of my actions.

Dani knew that she couldn't let Matthew confess not after all that he had done for her. She knew what she needed to do, but she had to find Nate first because her decision would affect him too. She turned around and left the school.

-

Nate was sitting at home doing his homework when he heard someone pounding on the door. He opened the door to see Dani and knew from the expression on her face that something was wrong.

"Dani, what's wrong?" Nate said as he slowly and cautiously leaned in to hug her. He had to be careful and cautious with her, she was still traumatized after what his bastard of a father tried to do to her. Nate shuddered at the thought of what would have happened to Dani had Matthew not shown up when he did.

"Matthew wants to confess to killing Eddie. I can't let him go to prison Nate. If he hadn't shown up when he did Eddie would have raped me. If we had only come forward that night then Matt could have gotten off on self defense but I was scared and ashamed. I didn't want anybody to find out and Matt agreed to keep my secret. He shouldn't have to pay for that, so I'm going to tell everybody that I killed Eddie before Matthew confesses and ruins his life."

"I can't let you do that. It wouldn't work anyways. Matt's never going to stand by and let you go to prison. Call Matt and Destiny and tell them to come over here. I've got an idea and if it works, no one will have to pay for killing my father."

It wasn't long before Matthew and Destiny showed up.

"What's going on Danny? Are you okay?" Matthew asked as Destiny and Mathew walked into the apartment.

"I overheard you and Destiny talking at the school. You can't confess Matt."

"I can't let my uncle take the wrap for something that I did. Don't worry I'm going to leave you out of it. No one will know what that bastard tried to do to you."

"Maybe it's time that the truth comes out," Dani said.

"Dani's right. The truth should come out about my father's shooting, but there will be a little twist to the story. I'm going to tell the police that I ran into Matt and Destiny on my way back to the motel. I went there to get the gun that I dropped and Matt and Destiny kept me company. When we entered the room Eddie was attacking Dani. Eddie had a knife and I thought he was going to kill her so I picked up the gun and shot him. Matt and Destiny will tell the police they witnessed the whole thing and if things go according to plan then we'll all walk away free and clear," Nate explained.

"What if we don't all walk away? I can't just sit by and let you confess to something that I did," Matthew explained.

"I need to do this. Dani means everything to me and I wasn't there to protect her, but you were. I owe you so please let's try things my way. Dani's mom is an excellent lawyer and I'm sure that she'll get me off. Besides you're a much more credible witness then I am.

Matthew was silent for a couple of minutes, "okay, we'll do things your way for now. So what do we do now?"

"Let's go see Dani's mom and tell her our version of the truth," Nate said.

-

The kids told Tea their version of the truth and she made it her life's mission to help Nate avoid prosecution.

Matthew went home and took a chance by telling his mom and dad the real truth. He couldn't lie to them, not anymore and he needed their help to make sure that Nate got off easy. Bo and Nora promised Matthew that they would protect Nate.

Several weeks went by and it was ruled that Eddie's death was the result of self defense. The kids were sentenced to 40 hours of community service for withholding information in a criminal investigation.

Matthew breathed a sigh of relief when their sentence had been delivered to them. Nate, Danny, and Destiny had stuck by him and now he felt like he could focus on his future again.


End file.
